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Investing in the Ag landscape from the ground up
By David Elmouttie, Head of Broadacre at BASF Australia & New Zealand
In the next five years, BASF is doubling down on its commitment to research and development in the Australian market.
WA grower Scott Walker with BASF broadacre specialist Caroline Dix
The world relies on Australian growers’ ability to embrace modern farming practices and profitably secure yields on good and marginal land so they can supply high quality produce to feed our nation, and also the world’s growing population. At BASF, we have always aimed to help farmers take greater control of their futures by supporting their mission to succeed at what we call the biggest job on earth.
We take the best chemistry, knowledge, and innovation the world has to offer and develop it here for our local market. We support growers and partners across the agricultural food chain as they adopt best practice through products and services that boost long-term productivity, improve their incomes, and support the growing demands of sustainable agriculture in a constantly evolving environment.
Expanding the capability of Australian growers and advisors through upskilling and education is vital to agriculture reaching its full potential. The skills shortage in the industry continues to hinder efforts to access the agricultural expertise farmers require.
In an industry where knowledge can, at times, be closely guarded by senior agronomists and there are six job openings to every agriculture graduate, there is a material need to support aspiring agronomists expand their skillset to access opportunities available.
In 2021, BASF established its Junior Agronomy (Agro) Training initiative at its CropSolutions farm in Tamworth NSW to help attract and retain the best industry talent. For Australian farmers, trusted information is everything. It’s the difference between sound decision making rather than relying on ‘gut feel’.
We see real value in the Junior Agro program that equips agronomists commencing a long and prosperous career with a unique practical experience in the field. It supplements their classroom studies and prepares them for the discussions they will have with future clients throughout the growing cycle.
During the last two years, 150 junior agronomists have completed our program at the Tamworth facility, with more than 40 per cent of participants being female. Participants reported a boost in confidence following the program’s conclusion, with many recognising the value of meeting likeminded professionals early in their careers.
BASF plans to expand the initiative to include a year-round training offering, featuring a syllabus of webinars for agronomists to further enhance collaboration with growers. By cultivating a generation of empowered junior agronomists, BASF hopes to lead an industry-wide shift towards more sustainable and efficient agricultural practices.
While education is essential, growers must also focus their attention on controlling their environment with innovative products. BASF has a tried and tested commitment to Australian agriculture, developing targeted chemistry and seed varieties in local conditions. We bring ground-breaking products to Australian growers first.
Australia was the first global market for newly launched Efficon® insecticide, a unique mode of action targeting piercing and sucking insect pests. Efficon’s compound, Axalion® Active, is the first and only Group 36 mode of action and the first insecticide for the control of piercing and sucking pests such as whiteflies and aphids to receive classification since 2015. Efficon is fast acting and can reliably be applied in crop early or after the crop canopy forms, making it an important tool to control resistant pests.
Taking Axalion Active from discovery to market was a significant global undertaking that started right here in Australia. Australian growers were the first in the world to use the product in commercial crops, delivering a new tool for higher efficacy in crop production. The product has no known cross resistance, which makes it effective against pests that have developed resistance to existing chemistries and can no longer be controlled with current market standards. It also ensures that local products remain useful for longer, slowing resistance to chemistry in horticulture cropping.
In the next five years, BASF is doubling down on its commitment to research and development in the local market. We will launch up to nine new products for broadacre, three new products for horticulture, and fourteen new products for professional and specialty services (P&SS).
Working hand-in-glove with growers and communities to drive positive outcomes (and yields) is part and parcel of BASF’s commitment to Australian agriculture. We take great pride in not only supporting growers, but also giving back to local groups that are the heart and soul of our rural and regional communities.
In 2023, we continued to support our Community Paddocks initiative where we collaborated with local growers in Paskeville, South Australia and Nhill, Victoria to generate new agronomic insights and raise much-needed funds for each local community.
Local growers generously designated paddocks on their land to grow barley, with BASF providing expertise and continuous support throughout the season to cultivate healthy crops.
We supplied crop protection solutions such as Systiva®, Voraxor®, Frequency®, Opus®, and Opera® to aid each in paddock achieving an optimal level of weed control and high-quality yield. Following harvest, all profits generated by each paddock will be donated to local community organisations and sports clubs. Along the growing journey, members of the community, including local agriculture students, have been invited to visit each site to drive further collaboration and understanding.
Whatever the task or challenge, at BASF we’re all about helping growers and ag business partners tackle their challenges. We are committed to finding the right balance, so that farmers, our industry, and future generations can all flourish. We want to create a positive impact on the agricultural-food system that is so important for our society and help shape a sustainable future for farming. This is true for today, tomorrow, and has been for more than a century.
Website: https://crop-solutions.basf.com.au
Email: anz@agsolutions.basf.com
Grower Lynk McLelland from Rapisarda Farms with BASF Agricultural Solutions team members Greg Haslam and Serge Usatov, after the world first application of Efficon in Ayr Queensland.
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